In the 1800s, the Mississippi River was a huge factor in transportation (Center for Global Environmental Education). This significant body of water gave people the freedom to travel to places they had never been to before. It allowed people to explore the world around them they could not previously do. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Jim and Huckleberry Finn are two runaways who take the Mississippi River towards their own freedom. Throughout the novel, the river plays a significant part in the freedom of Jim and Huckleberry Finn. The river’s ability to make Jim feel like a ‘free’ man is clearly shown in his actions on and off the raft. About one-fourths into the book Huckleberry Finn decides to prank Jim while they
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The effect of the river is reversed on Huckleberry. He starts to view Jim, a runaway slave, as an equal. To exemplify this idea, after the prank, Huckleberry says, “ It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither” (84). This is a revolutionary idea. The actuality of the situation is Huckleberry starts to unlearn part of his development as a younger child. To repeat, he argues with Jim as if Jim is a human being, not property. Huckleberry, in this specific scene, is taking Jim’s argument, as stated in the last sentences, and is refuting it. Not because it’s ‘wrong’, simply because he is trying to prove a point, but he’s still treating Jim as an equal or he’s crossing the bridge to start heading the direction of treating Jim as a human being. Even earlier, Huckleberry treats him as equal, saying, “I never see such a nigger. If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again” (76). The readers see Huckleberry wrestle with whether or not he should send Jim back. Twain writes down how the change isn 't immediate nor right then. Huckleberry truly struggles with what he has been taught his whole life and how he is seeing things in his own light. Huckleberry narrates, “Here was this nigger, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right …show more content…
As Huckleberry and Jim travel down the river for their own ambitions, they encounter many different types of freedom. Huckleberry speaks about life on the raft and the river, saying, “Sometimes we 'd have that whole river to ourselves, for the longest time…. It’s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened” (115). Both Huckleberry and Jim are very free. This is also a repeat of treating Jim as if he is an equal, Huckleberry clearly says they “discussed”. The repeat of Twain’s representation of how uncomfortable readers in his time would be with the portrayal of Jim. The play on the river here is that it is freeing. It gives off, in all chapters, a sense of opportunistic ability to do as the persons please. This is shown in scenes with the King and the Duke, Pap Finn’s death, and the men who wanted to murder a simple man and throw him into the river; this is a select few. There are so many more chapters that can be interpreted within this novel. In chapter 15’s specific scene, Huckleberry is portrayed as not worrying that much about Jim, Huckleberry saying, after hollering for Jim, “I was good and tired, so I laid down in the canoe and said I wouldn’t bother no more” (81). The river is also accurately portrayed. A river is only held in by its border, the river leads Huckleberry back to
The effect of the river is reversed on Huckleberry. He starts to view Jim, a runaway slave, as an equal. To exemplify this idea, after the prank, Huckleberry says, “ It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterward, neither” (84). This is a revolutionary idea. The actuality of the situation is Huckleberry starts to unlearn part of his development as a younger child. To repeat, he argues with Jim as if Jim is a human being, not property. Huckleberry, in this specific scene, is taking Jim’s argument, as stated in the last sentences, and is refuting it. Not because it’s ‘wrong’, simply because he is trying to prove a point, but he’s still treating Jim as an equal or he’s crossing the bridge to start heading the direction of treating Jim as a human being. Even earlier, Huckleberry treats him as equal, saying, “I never see such a nigger. If he got a notion in his head once, there warn’t no getting it out again” (76). The readers see Huckleberry wrestle with whether or not he should send Jim back. Twain writes down how the change isn 't immediate nor right then. Huckleberry truly struggles with what he has been taught his whole life and how he is seeing things in his own light. Huckleberry narrates, “Here was this nigger, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right …show more content…
As Huckleberry and Jim travel down the river for their own ambitions, they encounter many different types of freedom. Huckleberry speaks about life on the raft and the river, saying, “Sometimes we 'd have that whole river to ourselves, for the longest time…. It’s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened” (115). Both Huckleberry and Jim are very free. This is also a repeat of treating Jim as if he is an equal, Huckleberry clearly says they “discussed”. The repeat of Twain’s representation of how uncomfortable readers in his time would be with the portrayal of Jim. The play on the river here is that it is freeing. It gives off, in all chapters, a sense of opportunistic ability to do as the persons please. This is shown in scenes with the King and the Duke, Pap Finn’s death, and the men who wanted to murder a simple man and throw him into the river; this is a select few. There are so many more chapters that can be interpreted within this novel. In chapter 15’s specific scene, Huckleberry is portrayed as not worrying that much about Jim, Huckleberry saying, after hollering for Jim, “I was good and tired, so I laid down in the canoe and said I wouldn’t bother no more” (81). The river is also accurately portrayed. A river is only held in by its border, the river leads Huckleberry back to